Monday, February 21, 2011

New Poll: Emulation vs D&D Fantasy

Yesterday's post about Goodman and emulating Appendix N source material got me thinking how many DMs use D&D to emulate their favorite fantasy setting or historical era, or use a homebrew or published setting, with most of the D&Disms intact.

With that in mind, feel free to drop a note on the new poll.  How do you use D&D or AD&D in your current setting?

I voted for # 3 - I'm running the World of Greyhawk in our current campaign, and I'm not overhauling the fundamentals of D&D to do it.

9 comments:

  1. My current setting was specifically designed to rationalize the implied setting of D&D.

    The City (whenever I start that game) will be more like option #2.

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  2. I almost always done option 2. I tend to make D&D (or whatever system) fit with whatever homebrew setting I'm using.

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  3. I used to bend and twist D&D to the period/genre I wanted but nowadays I like playing D&D as D&D, because that's what I think it does best, so nowadays it's #3 for me.

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  4. Since I'm writing the Middle-earth supplement, I voted first ^^

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  5. I'm making certain changes to Swords and Wizardry to suit my Wounded Gaia setting and, above all, its animistic cosmology. The main change is the replacement of the Cleric by a Shaman and of the Magic-User by an Elementalist, and the difference between them and the original classes is chiefly in the spell lists.

    In a sense, I'm also trying to emulate fiction - or, more precisely, myth and legend, especially those of animistic cultures, but also those of polytheistic or even monotheistic cultures that believed in Spirits and/or Fey.

    A Shaman should be able to do all the stuff the Shamans, Witch-Doctors, Witches and so on could do in myth and legend - which involves healing, enchanting and shape-changing among other things, but not many direct damaging spells. The Elementalist is inspired by the philosophers and alchemists of old, and their spells are clearly elemental-flavored or alchemy-flavored.

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  6. Nightwick Abbey's changes are mostly in the flavor, but the Underworld will probably undergo a major overhaul, especially in the monster department.

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  7. I used to bend and twist D&D to the period/genre I wanted but nowadays I like playing D&D as D&D, because that's what I think it does best, so nowadays it's #3 for me.

    I'm starting to go the same way - as I get older, er... wiser and lazier, I'm trying to embrace the game side of D&D and let it do what it does best.

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  8. I tend to stick to D&D as it is, maybe with a few houserules if the need arises. Either home-brew or a place such as Greyhawk (always dear to my heart).

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  9. Oh, and thanks for commenting on my blog. Appreciate it.

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